


Cash N Carry

by makingitwork



Category: The Social Network (2010)
Genre: AU, Billionaires, Break Up and Make Up, FIx It, Happy Ending, Hurt and comfort, M/M, Weed, american ultra allusions, stoner au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-16
Updated: 2016-06-16
Packaged: 2018-07-15 11:03:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,446
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7219825
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/makingitwork/pseuds/makingitwork
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Mark meets Eduardo outside a tattoo parlour in their rundown down.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Cash N Carry

**Author's Note:**

> Enjoy :) xx

Mark had dumped Eduardo three years ago. 

He'd been a stoner, content to screw around the days hacking into computer games to make them more difficult or sometimes when he was feeling extra lazy, give himself a ridiculously high score that no one would ever be able to beat. He'd been eighteen years old when they'd met, Eduardo and another guy were standing outside a tattoo parlour, and the first thing Mark had noticed in one of his rare moments of clarity (which meant: not being high) was that the boy was beautiful. Tall, and wiry, body exuding excitement even though it was his friend getting the tattoo and not him. 

'It's going to be a long wait.' Mark had called to them 'he's probably out for lunch. You guys should get something to eat and then comeback. Not to mention a full stomach will probably help with the pain.' 

Eduardo had laughed, head tilted back in delight, and asked Mark to come and join them. 

They'd started dating three days later.

And Eduardo moved into Mark's dingy little flat, with their grainy television that got every channel because Mark knew his way around websites, and they were happy. 

And then Mark hacked into the FBI database, just to see if he could, with Eduardo curled up into his side, laughing delightedly, the stale scent of weed hanging over them both. 

He'd received so many job offers. And at first, he and Eduardo laughed at them, rolled them up into joints and smoked them as giant 'fuck you' to the corporate world that they both despited. Content in their little stretch of cheap heaven. 

But then Microsoft and other more respectable job offers came in. Jobs that Mark thought he'd never be able to get, and it suddenly hit him very suddenly that he had a ticket out of this town, he had a chance for a new life, the chance to change the world that he had always wanted, but never let himself dare to dream about, because things like that don't happen to regular people. He told as much to Sean Parker, the man who'd offered him a job, a job that Mark really, really, really wanted to take. 

'You're not a regular person, Mark,' Sean had said, so confidently, that Mark could do nothing but believe him, and lean in with awe that someone thought he could make a difference. Eduardo thought so too, but what was Eduardo other than another stoner? This was the opinion of someone who mattered. Someone who had achieved. 'You're going to change the world. Just let me help you.' 

And so Mark decided to take the job. 

Maybe he could have brought Eduardo with him. Nothing stated that his ticket out of this town was for one person only. But he'd stood there, in their bedroom, bags packed, plane ticket clenched in his hand, and looked down at the sleeping Wardo. With their matching ankle tattoos, and infinite inside jokes, and understanding of one another, and just thought  _no._ Eduardo was the best part of his old life. He didn't want him to become the worst part of his new one. Eduardo was for the old Mark. 

A new Mark was coming.

So he'd shaken Eduardo's shoulder, and the bambi-eyed boy had sat up, brows furrowed in confusion at the suitcases. 'I'm leaving.' Mark had said 'I'm taking a job, I'm not coming back. Goodbye.' 

Wardo had blinked at him, 'what?' he croaked, still half-asleep. Mark didn't answer him, picking up his suitcase and heading towards the door. Wardo threw the blankets off, nearly tripping in his haste 'Mark!' He called, voice desperate and worried 'wait! Wait one second! What?' But he stopped short at the sight of a cab outside their house. 'What about...I don't understand!'

Mark loaded his suitcases into the boot, and pulled open the passenger side door, he looked at Eduardo over the roof of the car, and pressed his lips together, his voice quiet 'I have to leave. I have to...I have to  _do_ something with my life.'

Eduardo, his beautiful, perfect Eduardo, stared at him for one long moment, and then nodded slowly 'of course you do,' he whispered, not unkindly. He even managed a tiny smile 'you're going to change the world, Mark.' He said, shivering from the cold early morning air, his pyjamas consisting of threadbare boxers, and one of Mark's t-shirts. 

'I just...I always thought...' he smiled again, a little more forced this time 'good luck.'

Mark nodded, and got into the cab. 

They'd been dating for four years. 

And Mark had invented Facebook by age 23.

...

...

...

So now, 26 years old, sitting in his glass office, with his new friends Dustin and Chris just outside, with Sean hunting down new and better investors everyday, with Facebook bigger than it had ever been and getting stronger everyday, Mark thinks about him. 

He hasn't thought about him in so long, but now that he's achieved everything he's wanted, his mind keeps drifting back. 

Back to  _before._

He doesn't know why, or maybe he doesn't want to come to terms with it, but he keeps thinking. He keeps remembering. The way Eduardo felt curled into his side. How despite their height difference Eduardo always wanted to be the little spoon, and Mark was more than happy to be of help. How they'd cook breakfast together, hips knocking into each others. The way Wardo's lip would curl up just at the sight of Mark. No one looks at him like that anymore. No one looks at him as though their life is better just by seeing him. He misses it. 

He misses with a deep rooted longing the sounds Wardo made when he was coming, tight around Mark, hands scrabbling for purchase along Mark's shoulders, and the way Mark's hands would tangle in that untameable brown hair. He misses that bronze skin, and the beautiful contrast between them when they held hands. 

_'I'm so fucking nervous.' Mark whispered, as the two of them stood outside the tattoo parlour where they'd met, the darkness of the night sky doing nothing to stop their rush._

_'I'm terrified,' Wardo whispered, hands on Mark's neck, peppering his jawline with kisses 'we're going to do this properly.' He says, pulling back, face flushed with pleasure and excitement, eyes sparkling, and Mark knows he'd do anything for him. 'I'm going to save up. Buy a ring, it'll be all-all formal like, yeah?'_

_Mark smiles so widely his face hurts 'you work at Cash and Carry, Wardo, it'll take years to save up.'_

_Wardo doesn't look hindered. Just determined. 'Then it'll take years. We have all the time in the world. And then you propose, yeah?' He slots their bodies together 'because I'll cry if it's me.'_

_Mark nods viciously, and they hug more tightly, so complete and so content with their togetherness. He doesn't say that he thinks he might cry too. They go inside, and get the feather tattooed on their ankles. A long, stretching feather, with coloured abstract lines, from their ankle up to midway through their shin, and they love them so much they wear shorts for weeks, brandishing their connection to anyone who will listen._

Mark thinks about their picnics. The races they would have through overgrown fields, rolling down large hills, idyllic and perfect and landing in an exhausted heap at the bottom, where they'd just lie and watch the blue fade from the sky to give way to stars. 

Eduardo could make him laugh like no one else in the world. And Mark remembers with such aching fondness the way they'd laugh together, tears prickling in the corner of their eyes, sides throbbing. 

He misses him so much it hurts. A visceral pain that stops him from being able to breath easily. 

...

...

...

'Come on,' Chris grins, passing Mark a beer 'you must be attracted to people, Mark. Or are you honestly that much of a robot?' 

Mark shrugged 'I like guys.' 

Dustin chuckled 'okay, that's a start, I guess,' he stretches in the armchair 'do you have someone and you're just keeping them really private? Do you wanna be hooked up? Or are even interested in finding anybody? I mean it can't be fun for you, to be living in your giant mansion all alone. You don't even have a cat.' Mark shrugs. Of course he gets lonely. But he doesn't miss the presence of people, he misses the presence of one person, and he's not sure what he's supposed to do about it. Dustin and Chris have each other, and they come and visit Mark as often as they can, because sometimes this burden of loneliness makes him irritable and snappy and apparently the HR department don't want to have to keep reprimanding him for different things. 

'I...' he looks at both of them, and takes a small sip of beer. They're his friends. He can't keep it all bottled up. 'I had someone. He was...he  _is_ the...the best thing that ever happened to me.' And his voice breaks, because he hasn't talked about Eduardo in so long.

Chris and Dustin stare at him in shock, and suddenly move to comfort him, but they thrum with curiosity 'what was he like?' Chris asks 'How did you guys..?' It's as though they've never thought Mark could be anything but a programmer, and now there's a chance to another side of him, and they have to know what it's like.

Mark shifts awkwardly 'it's...his name is Eduardo, but I called him Wardo, and I...before Facebook, I lived in this really rundown town, and I had a part-time job at a Drive-Thru, and he worked in Cash and Carry, and we rented this tiny apartment, and we met at a tattoo parlour, and at first we just got high together, but then we...' and he tells them. He tells about how they met, what they said, when Eduardo moved in, and when Mark realised he loved him 'I just...I woke up one day, and he was there, reading a book, and his free hand was just there...just drawing circles on my shoulder, and I...' he looks down at his beer, were little drops of condensation are starting to drop down it. 'And we decided to get matching tattoos, because we didn't have the money for a ring-'

'You have a tattoo?' Dustin exclaims, gleeful, and Mark nods, lifting his pant leg, and showing them the feather. It makes their faces soft, and kind 'it's really beautiful.' Dustin says quietly, and Mark nods 

'And then one day, for fun, I hacked into the FBI database, and I started getting job offers, and at first I thought they were bullshit, and just burnt them, but then...Sean offered me one, and...' he rubs the back of his neck 'I wanted it. And so I accepted, and told Eduardo the day of my flight. That is was over. We were over, because I needed to do something with my life, and he...' Mark smiles, though his eyes are wet, and Chris and Dustin are frozen with shock 'he was so fucking  _Wardo_ even as I was leaving him. He said he had faith in me. And he wished me good luck, and I didn't have the courage to say anything back, and I got into a cab and left.'

'You just left?' Chris whispers, and Mark nods, hair falling into his eyes. 

'I haven't seen him for three years. I don't even- I just...'

'How long were you together?' Chris asks, and Mark takes another sip 

'Four years. We met when we were eighteen, and then...I left when I was twenty-two.'

'Holy shit.' Dustin says, and leans back 'that's heavy, man. And you've never...never been with anyone else?'

'Why would I?' Mark frowns, confused 'no one will ever be as good as him. He was my soulmate.' Chris makes a wounded sound in the back of his throat, and Dustin looks away. They're both acting like this is some epic tragedy, but it's just Mark's life. 'Anyway, at the end of the day, I chose Facebook over him, and that's that.'

'But you miss him,' the blond says softly, and Mark nods, half smiling 

'I can't stop thinking about him. I keep remembering the most random things.' He laughs 'he used to...he used to eat all his food separately. Meat first, then vegetables, never mixed them. And he never blow-dried his hair, only towel dried it, and it would just lie dripping against his forehead, down his face and-' Mark can't help but laugh 'and he'd just shake his head like a dog and drench me, because he's an idiot.'

Dustin smiles, and touches Mark's arm 'you should reach out. Say you're sorry. If he feels even a tenth for you, what you feel for him, it'll work out.' 

...

...

...

Driving back into that old town, where his past self was happy but a nobody, is an unusual experience. It's quarter to midnight, but the first thing he does is drive straight to the cash and carry. The parking lot is completely empty, and the lights draw him in. Mark walks through the aisles, maybe marvelling a little at how nothing seems to have changed. 

And then he sees him. 

Eduardo.

He's wearing the dark blue uniform shirt and name tag, and some dark jeans and red converse. He's got black headphones in, reaching into his back pocket, and his head is bobbing to some music, and he's humming just under his breath to the tune, as he slots more baked beans onto the shelf. He's wearing a blue cap, keeping the top half of his face, half hidden in a shadow, but those lips are just how Mark remembered them. He looks just the same.

He clears his throat, and Eduardo pulls his headphones out 'sorry man, I'll ring you up in a sec.' And he heads for the till. Mark grabs some baked beans and follows him. He sets them on the counter and jams his hands into his pockets as Eduardo scans them and slides them into a small bag 'that'll be $3.99, are you sure I can't interest you in a anything else, Sir?'

Mark licks his lips, and takes a deep breath 'W-Wardo?'

Wardo freezes. And looks up, lifting off his cap and revealing those gorgeous eyes and ridiculous hair, and he stares. 'Mark?'

The curly haired billionaire smiles 'yeah, uh...hi,'

Wardo manages a startled laugh, nodding 'yeah...yeah, uh...hi, to you too, I...' he shakes his head in amazement 'I thought I'd never see you again.' Mark doesn't know what to say, so just takes his fill. The long expanse of Eduardo's throat, the colour of his eyes, the bronze of his skin. 'You look good,' Eduardo says gently 'but uh...I mean, Facebook- that's...well done, Mark, I always knew you had it in you.' He sounds genuine and kind, and Mark remembers that Eduardo is a  _good_ person, one of those rare, and genuinely good people, who always get treated like shit despite the fact they've never done anything wrong.

'And you uh...still work at Cash and Carry,' he says, for lack of anything else, and regrets it as soon as he does. It makes Eduardo's face fall, his eyes dim a little, and Mark feels dread pool in his chest. 

'Yeah well, uh, not all of us could get out of this town.' He looks down at his cap, and shakes a little 'anyway, did you want anything else? Because if not, that'll be $3.99.' 

Mark stares at him. 'I...I've missed you.' He scuffs his shoe against the floor 'a lot.'

Eduardo sighs, and rests his elbows on the counter, bowing his head. 'I've missed you to.' He chuckles dryly 'a lot. And...' he chokes a little 'I've thought about this moment so many times, I've rehearsed what I would say, because I have so many things to say,' he looks up with tears in his eyes, and Mark reaches out for him, just wants to touch him, but the counters in the way, so he jumps over it, and lets Eduardo rest his forehead on his chest 'I wanted to say sorry, for not being what you needed. I wanted to say sorry for holding you back all those years, and I...I'm just so grateful that you stayed with me for as long as you did, because I swear to god, Mark, I swear to god,' he pulls back and looks up at Mark as tears slide hotly down his face 'they were the happiest years of my life.' 

Mark clutches him like he's the only good thing in the world. The only thing that matters. 'They were the happiest years of my life, too.' 

'No,' Eduardo shakes his head 'no, no, no-'

'Yes,  _yes,_ they were. Because it was me and you, and if I could go back, I would stay with you.' Mark takes Eduardo's hands, and presses a kiss to his forehead 'I'm coming back, if you'll have me, and we'll be just like we were, only this time, I'm going to  _cherish_ you.'

'Come back?' Eduardo frowns as though the idea is preposterous 'but I'm...' he ducks his head and blushes 'I work at Cash and Carry.'

'So?' Mark shrugs 'I don't care where you work, or what you do, it doesn't define you. I love you. I never stopped loving you.' 

Eduardo cups his face 'really?' He whispers, and Mark nods 

'Never.'

Eduardo smiles in that way that he smiles at Mark, and Mark nearly cries with how much he's missed it. 'Then I have something to tell you,' he slides his hands down from Mark's face to his arms, and holds him 'I don't work at Cash and Carry.' Mark frowns, confused 'when you left...I...I had nothing. So I started gambling, I...didn't care about anything, anymore, and I started betting on the weather, and...I realised, by studying the different graphs, I was making money. So, I...I went to the library, I learnt everything, I made thousands, and I moved to Singapore.' Mark makes a startled sound, and Eduardo nods 'I invested in a small business, I started making satellites, Mark,' he shakes his head with a small smile 'did you never look me up?'

'No, I...I didn't,' 

Eduardo makes a gesture with his head, and Mark takes out his phone, and googles Eduardo Saverin, and stares in awe. Eduardo's a billionaire. 

'How are you...what are you doing here?'

'A friend of yours who had the sense to google me, called. A guy named Dustin? He said I'd believe you more if you wanted to come back to me even if I worked here.' Eduardo's lips uptick 'pretty good, right?'

Mark kisses him. Furiously, passionately, kindly, fists his hands into Eduardo's hair and holds him like he's prepared to hold him forever 'I love you.' He whispers 'I love you so much.' 

Eduardo closes his eyes, lets himself get lost in his soulmate. 'I can finally afford that ring,' he says into Mark's neck, and Mark laughs, full bodied and happier than he's been in his whole life. 

'Guess I should start working on ways to propose, then,'

...

...

...

It's weird at first, for Chris and Dustin.

Mark seems like he's a different person with Eduardo, seems younger and more foolish, and more emotional. Less goal orientated and content to spend days in bed with his boyfriend. 

Facebook suffers for a few months, before things finally slot into their given place. 

Eduardo relocates his offices from Singapore, and Mark starts to have faith that when he comes home, Eduardo will be there. It won't be an empty house. 

Eduardo is introduced to Facebook, and Mark is introduces to weather satellite imaging. Mark stares, speechless, the first time he sees Eduardo in a suit, clean cut and tailored, and looking so different from the stoner he once knew, and yet entirely the same. And they trace each others tattoo, and look at each other sometimes, like everything in the world will be okay as long as they're together. 

Mark proposes in front of a Cash and Carry, with fireworks and pigeons, and love, and Eduardo cries tears of joy, and says  _god yes, finally._

Their old tattoo artist turns up at the wedding, stylish, and confident and wise, and claps them both on the back, and says their love will last much longer than their tattoos ever will. 

**Author's Note:**

> Prompt and Comment   
> xx


End file.
